In cases where connectors are molded, the molding is sometimes performed in two separate processes. For example, FIG. 8 shows a connector 100 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-16423. Connector 100 has electrical contacts 104 press-fitted in a housing 102 formed by primary molding, and a housing 106 is further formed by secondary molding. Before the housing 106 is molded, it is necessary to place the housing 102 which has the contacts 104 in a prescribed position inside the mold.
Accordingly, the horizontal portions 108 of the contacts 104 are held by means of ejector pins (not shown) in the mold during injection molding, so that deformation is prevented. The reason that the contacts are held by ejector pins is that the contacts tend not to be affected by high temperatures during molding.
When the contacts are pressed by ejector pins, holes which lead from the outer surface of the housing to the contacts remain in the molded product following molding. If water or moisture is present, the water enters the connector via these holes and reaches the interior of the connector by passing through the gaps between the contacts and the housing. Accordingly, such connectors cannot be made waterproof.
The present invention was devised in light of the above points. One object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof electrical connector assembly in which no holes formed by ejector pins remain in the outer surface through which water can flow.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost electrical connector assembly which makes it possible to achieve a further simplification of the mold used for molding the connector.